In the Dark
by MiddleLioness
Summary: An escaped slave meets Frodo and Sam as they travel through Mordor. Anora must overcome obsticles and fears to make it back to the people she cares about. First Fic. Please read and review. Fourth chapter up.
1. Light among the shadows

Authors note: this is my first fan fiction so tell me what you think of it.

Oh and denotes flashback. By the way the quote from Eowyn is from The Return of the King. Please read and review. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Of course the characters aren't mine except for Anora, she's all _mine_. You got that. So if you ever want to borrow her you have to ask. glares obsessively, obviously suspecting everyone Good. Glad we straightened that out.

Chapter one: a light among the shadows.

It was dark. It was always dark in the land of Mordor, but Anora thought that the faint light in the west made it seem all the darker. Light. The slaves that worked for the Eye thirsted for it as a weary traveler might thirst for water. It had been that faint light that had pushed Anora to the breaking point. Anora sighed. It was a stupid idea, she knew it was. If she was caught she would be killed. 'There are worse things then death' she thought 'I do not fear death' her resolve strengthened. She had been sitting there for hours, resting and waiting for the road to clear of the miles and miles of orcs that were streaming toward the gates. She had been waiting for this chance for three years. She was not going to quit now because of doubt. She resigned herself to a long wait.

Anora had only escaped two days ago and she still needed to find a way out of Mordor. She had not really planned on what to do after getting away from the tower. She knew that every way in and out of the country was guarded, but she had to try. '_What do you fear?'_ she asked herself. She had asked that same question years ago. Her mind wandered back through the years as she waited, to a visit to Rohan.

_It was dark and she was only four years old. The lightning lit up the room and the thunder crashed around her. She began to cry. She had always been afraid of the dark. She looked up as Lady Eowyn came into the room. Eowyn wrapped her arms around her and comforted her until it was over. Anora remembered asking what Eowyn feared. Eowyn's face grew solemn, "A cage." she had said, "To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of doing great deeds have gone beyond recall or desire."_

'It looks like I got a share of both of our fears' she thought grimly. She looked wistfully to the west, aching to feel the sun on her face. She froze hearing a shuffling noise coming toward her hiding place. She carefully drew a knife she had stolen from the armory from her belt. She knew that her hiding spot was not a particularly good one. It was just a pit inside a roadside ditch with a dark blanket over the top to keep her from being seen. She pressed herself against the side, holding her breath. She heard whispers.

"Come on Mr. Frodo, we're almost there."

She listened more carefully. It hadn't sounded like an orc. She heard a faint thump. Unable to restrain herself she peered curiously over the edge. She gasped quietly. It _was_ orcs. Two of them. She sank back to her knees praying that they hadn't spotted her.

"You get some rest Mr. Frodo. I'll keep watch."

She frowned. It really did not sound like an orc and now that she thought on it, orcs weren't that small either. Or at least _she_ had never seen any that small. She was having a very confusing day.

Sam and Frodo crawled out of the melee, using the confusion as cover. Sam glanced at his master. Frodo was very pale and looked like he was about to faint.

"Come on Mr. Frodo," he whispered, "We're almost there."

Frodo nodded weakly to let Sam know that he had heard him. He rolled over the edge of the ditch with a faint thump. Sam helped him get comfortable. He thought he heard a gasp. He looked around worried that they had been spotted. He didn't see anyone so he turned back to Frodo.

"You get some rest Mr. Frodo. I'll keep watch."

"Thank you, Sam. Wake me in a few hours. You need rest as well." Frodo muttered weakly. Sam watched him until he was sure he was asleep. If anything was watching them, he didn't want to worry Frodo. He hoped he could handle it on his own. Frodo was too tired to help.

Anora awoke to absolute quiet. Her stomach groaned. She wrapped her arms around it willing it to stay quiet. 'I really should have brought more food' she thought. 'Well, time to get a move on.'

"Hello." Anora looked up in alarm. It was the orc!

Sam thought he had never seen a look filled with so much fear. Sam saw a lot of things in that look. Fear, despair and anger.

"No need to be afraid of _me_." He said. She didn't look like an enemy. And if it was he could handle it.

"Y-you don't _sound_ like an orc." The girl said sounding confused. Sam realized he was still wearing a disguise.

"Oh, sorry," Sam removed his orc helmet, "It's not smart to go around undisguised in these parts of middle-earth if you know what I mean."

Anora smiled slightly. Whatever it was, it had a kind face. It was rather small, No more than three feet tall. Her mind went to the stories Uncle Faramir had told her. Of course he wasn't _really _her uncle but he had been a great friend of her father and she had been given permission when she was little to call him uncle. This little creature reminded of the stories he had told concerning Halflings. Small and with bare feet. Yep, a Halfling. Her stomach growled again.

Sam looked thoughtful, "Would you like to join us? I'm sure Mr. Frodo wouldn't mind." Sam looked at this girl and felt what he had when he first saw Mr. Frodo. Some one who was as fragile as an uprooted sapling. Some one who needed the proper care to start growing again.

Anora decided that it looked trustworthy and if she was wrong, it was only three feet tall. She could handle it.

Frodo woke up to hushed voices. He saw Sam sitting a little while off talking to…

"Sam? Who is this?" he looked at the girl warily.

"Some one I thought could use some help." Said Sam, "Well, I'm going to see if I can find some water Mr. Frodo, I'll be back. Be sure to get more rest if you be needin' it." Sam stood up and walked into the darkness. 'Be careful, please. I don't know what I'd do without you.' thought Frodo.

Anora saw the look on his face and knew what he was thinking. She had seen that look before. She remembered her mother wearing that same look whenever her father went on duty as a scout. The look was always the same. Be careful, be safe, please come back. I couldn't bear it if you left me.

"Don't worry. Most of the orcs have been called to the gate," she said, Frodo looked at her curiously.

"How did you know where the orcs were going?" Anora looked into his eyes. Frodo shivered slightly. She had the haunted look of some one who had known great sorrow.

"Slaves hear things." She said quietly.

"Oh." Said Frodo. He remembered how desperately Boromir had wanted help for his country. This was one of the reasons. There was silence while Frodo tried to think of something to say to the girl he now recognized as a runaway slave. He studied her carefully. She was tall with dark hair and gray eyes. She was very thin and looked like she could use a good meal. Now that he thought about it she looked much like Boromir. "Was Gondor your home land?" he asked. She nodded.

"War goes on in the land of Gondor." She said softly, "The slain are not the only casualties of war. Every time The Eye wins a battle or raid there are spoils," Anora said, her voice was starting to shake, "Some are inanimate like gold or land but the unlucky people who survive are taken here," she looked around. Frodo saw that her eyes were burning with unshed tears. "The rest of my family were the lucky ones, the ones who died swiftly. I however was one of the unlucky few. The few who instead die slowly day by day as the spirit slowly diminishes and all hopes are quenched like fire watered by the downpour." She straitened up proudly, "I am one of the first to escape the black tower. As the other slaves would tell you I just don't know when to give up." She made a brave attempt at a smile, "I never give up all hope, even if it seems that everything has come crashing down on top of me, I _will_ get out and I _will_ see sunlight again!" she continued fiercely. She was breathing hard, tears leaking down her face. Frodo was silent for a moment.

"What is your name?"

"Anora."She said softly.

"Anora, you should get some rest." He said. Anora nodded suddenly weary. Frodo watched as she curled up and her breathing grew deeper. 'Is this the fate of every one I care about, this human girl, if the quest should fail? You were rightly named Anora' thought Frodo suddenly 'Anor means sun, the light amidst the shadows. To have hope and courage when it is forgotten by all others. Sam was right. She could use some help.'

TBC


	2. Fearful things

Author's Note: I'm going on vacation for two weeks so I'll have to see if I can get internet access. Keep an eye open.

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Lord of The Rings. Except for Anora. She's all _mine_ so if you want to borrow her you have to ask. _glares obsessively obviously suspecting everyone_ Good. Glad we straightened that out.

Anora slept fitfully. _She was walking through Ithilien. Beautiful Ithilien. She could almost smell the flowers and herbs that grew there in abundance. She had used to go walking there with her father, gathering herbs for her mother's poultices and medicines. Her mother had been an accomplished healer. She smiled at the memories. Then the dream changed. The beautiful trees around her shrank to fire-gutted stumps. The ferns and flowers withered and died. She looked around her in growing horror. Then she realized she was alone. No one walked beside her. Her father had left her alone to watch the shadows grow. She sank to her knees sobbing wildly. All of her favorite places had been destroyed. The animals had fled and the birds she had used to bring crumbs for had been burned in their nests. Then she felt a comforting arm around her shoulder. She sighed and sank back into peace-filled dreams as a voice whispered comforting words into her ear._

Frodo waited a few moments more as Anora's breathing evened out and the tears stopped. He then sneaked back over to his post to continue keeping watch. As much as Sam had insisted that he wasn't tired, Frodo knew better. He had sent Sam to get rest a little over an hour ago. He glanced over at Anora's sleeping form. He frowned slightly. She would need to be getting out of Mordor soon. The safest route he could think of was Cirith Ungol, and that depended on a few things. He would have to ask Sam how badly Shelob had been injured. Sam had told him what happened but had also been vague on the details. Sam being Sam had told the tale in the most modest way possible. Modest tales don't say how the monster was injured; they just say it was if they mention the monster being injured at all.

He looked out into the dark, lost in his thoughts. It was always around this time that he thought of The Shire. It would be springtime there. He thought of the lush green landscape, so different from where he was now. He sighed. He felt homesick. He had been gone for nearly a year. He smiled suddenly as he thought of the uproar that must have taken place after they had left. His smile faded as he thought of his cousins, Merry and Pippin. He didn't even know if they were alive. Faramir had told them Boromir was dead. Did that mean his cousins were gone as well? He wished he could see them. Despite what Sam had said during the trip to Mordor, he doubted they would be returning.

He shivered slightly in the cool night air. Some one dropped a blanket around his shoulders. He looked up as Anora sat down beside him.

"I wasn't sleeping well." She murmured. He nodded.

"What was your nightmare about," he asked quietly.

"Old memories, homesickness." She said, "I usually dream about those things. It's nothing new. You'd think I'd be used to it but it always makes me cry." She looked a little embarrassed to talk about it. Frodo noticed it.

"When I had nightmares," he said, "before Bilbo left, he would tell me that it was all right to talk about it, that talking about it would help it go away. He once told me that a nightmare is like a spy. It's very secretive and doesn't like to be talked about. Once you talk about it the secret is blown so it has to leave." He smiled as he remembered sitting on his uncle's bed, tearfully explaining a particularly frightening nightmare to his understanding uncle.

"What happened to Bilbo?" Anora asked. Frodo's smile broadened.

"Oh, he went off adventuring and left me behind to make sure they didn't try to sell the house again." He chuckled slightly.

"Sell the house?" Anora assumed that it was a joke of some kind but she didn't get it.

"Well it's a long story…"

Sam woke up to muffled laughter.

"Poor Bilbo had to buy most of his stuff back. The Sackville Bagginses never really got over it. They really wanted to live in that hobbit hole. So anyway that's what I meant about making sure they didn't sell the house again. I was joking actually. Bilbo just didn't think I was ready to leave the shire yet. I guess that he was right. Now that I have left, I feel homesick." Sam padded over to where they were sitting.

"I can just imagine," said Sam as he sat down, "Mr. Bilbo's face when he hears that you sold that hobbit hole to the Sackville Bagginses." Sam was grinning.

"It completely left my mind during our stay in Rivendell." Said Frodo lightly, "By the time I remembered it was too late.

"You mean that you remembered when you wanted to remember, Mr. Frodo. You just didn't want to have to tell your uncle about it." Said Sam, "Seeing as it slipped your mind I told him for you, right before we left." Frodo's eyes widened slightly, then relaxed.

"Well, then," he said, "It's a good thing we're not coming back or else he'd throttle me. I'm ashamed of you Sam. I thought you were on my side." Sam chuckled.

"I was just kiddin' Mr. Frodo." He said, "Though I doubt Mr. Bilbo would mind all that terribly, he knows you had to give it to somebody." Anora listened to them shaking her head. It was so strange how they could joke like that in this awful place. Then she thought of something.

"Frodo," she asked, "What did you mean by 'we're not coming back'?" The cheerful attitude seemed to melt away.

"We never told you what we're doing here have we." It was a statement not a question. Frodo and Sam exchanged a nod.

"Anora," said Frodo, "You know the part of the story I just told you, where Bilbo found a ring in the Misty Mountains?" She nodded, "I inherited it with everything else when he left," He took a deep breath, "It turns out that it was a ring of power, _the_ ring of power." He let this sink in. Anora's eyes widened, "We are here to destroy the one ring, the ring of the dark lord. We must throw it into the fires of Mount Doom and it is very likely, that we won't be coming back." Words failed Anora. There was nothing you could say to something like that. She finally thought of something to say.

"How did you get in? Without being noticed I mean."

"Cirith Ungol." Said Frodo. The air caught in Anora's chest. That was the place that every slave dreaded being sent to. It was a nightmare. Anyone sent there didn't come back. Even orcs feared that place. Stories were told of a monster that filled you with poison before sucking you dry. Then there were the watchers that never slept. How had they gotten past these obstacles? That was the impassible road.

"How-?" she couldn't even finish her sentence. Just thinking about that place made her mouth run dry in terror.

"It wasn't easy. Though if you're thinking of getting out you may want to try that route. It would be the easiest way." Anora found her voice.

"**Easiest!**" Her voice was shrill with fear, "**Don't you know what guards the tunnels! Don't you know where that pass comes out at!**" Frodo nodded.

"In order for us to pass we had to overcome a few…obstacles. I don't think they will give you as much trouble though." He said, "Sam injured Shelob and the gates to the fortress are crumbled so the orcs won't give you too much trouble." Anora thought about it.

"I would need to know a few things," she said slowly. Frodo nodded in agreement

They were up late into the night making plans.

TBC

You know what to do, please review.


	3. More than a little

Author's Note: I'm _really_ sorry about the delay with this story. I have been so caught up in writing my other fics that I have not done any more! I shall have to try harder. As always please remember to review. Thank you to all of my reviewers. 

Chapter three: More than a little

Merry stared off into the east. Pippin had gone off with the army a few days ago. He was sitting on the wall in the courtyard of the houses of healing. Aragorn had apparently left explicit instructions before leaving; he and lady Eowyn couldn't leave for at least a week. Merry felt restless. He couldn't go anywhere, he couldn't do anything. He had actually gotten into an argument with the head attendant. The attendant had not been in the mood for argument. Apparently Lady Eowyn had just been there to argue the same point. Merry had not chosen the best time to try to persuade the attendant to let him leave the houses of healing.

He sighed. There was nothing to do with Pip gone. There was no one to smoke his pipe with, if he had wanted to, no one to play pranks with (or on). Every one had left him. Frodo and Sam were off on the quest and Pip was playing hero with Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas. Merry had only had one important part in all of this, and most of that part consisted of acting like baggage. All he had to show for it was a broken arm. He frowned down at the limb in question.

His thoughts whirled in a circle back to Frodo. He was worried about his cousins. They were out there and there was nothing he could do for them.

"I wonder if the stories will even remember me. If they do I'll just be the one that was always left behind. Pippin is at least doing some thing useful." He stared out into space miserably. Then he felt a hand on his arm. He looked into the face of the new steward, Faramir. He nodded his head politely. Faramir stood beside him and looked into the distance.

"Are you waiting for some one, too?" Merry asked.

"Yes, I think that some of them are relatives of yours." Faramir guessed correctly what the hobbit was thinking about.

"It's frustrating." Merry said, "Knowing that they are out there but not knowing where exactly or what might be happening is maddening. Then there are others around you that know more but won't tell you!" Faramir glanced at Merry.

"Ah, I'm thinking that you tried to wheedle something out of Mithrandir." Merry looked confused for a moment then nodded.

"I'd forgotten that Gandalf was called that here. Yes, you're right. Pippin told me that Frodo was going by a route called Cirith Ungol, but Gandalf wouldn't tell him anything about it. Before they left, Pippin and I were trying to get more information out of him but didn't have any luck. I know that it was to keep us from worrying but all it did was make me concerned. If it's so bad that a wizard didn't want to talk about it than what chance does my cousin have?" Merry had finally found some one to talk to. "I mean, I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye to him. The last time I saw him, he was going to have an hour to himself to decide which direction we were going to take." He smiled bitterly, "That's just like my cousin to sneak off when no one is looking. He tried to do that when we left the Shire. Except that time we knew when he was planning to do it. This time I don't think it was planned. Boromir-" he broke off. He wasn't sure that Faramir knew about that particular part his brother had played.

"I'm sure that Boromir trying to take the ring might have made up his mind for him," said Faramir, "I know about that. Sam sort of, let it slip, during the time that I met them. I have a talent for that. My brother used to have meetings with our father that were supposed to be kept 'secret' but I always heard what they were about in the end. Have you tried not thinking about it?"

"There is nothing much to do here but think. No matter what I do I can't get Frodo and Sam off my mind. I'm worried about them, and what about Pippin? I was supposed to stay behind in Rohan. I didn't because it seemed to me that I was being left behind again. I came because I wanted to be with Pip again. As soon as I get here, he leaves again. I still feel like extra baggage," he muttered. He stared back out into the east.

"If I don't have some thing to do soon, I'm going to go mad."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Anora trudged on. She had left the two 'hobbits' as they had called themselves. When, she was not sure, it could have been hours or days, there was no way to tell in the unceasing darkness. She felt down hearted. Anora had not known that she enjoyed company so much until she had met them. They had brought a little light to her darkness. She laughed softly, thinking of Sam's indignant face if he could hear her thinking of his master as little. Perhaps it wasn't a little light, she mused. When they had told her of what they intended to do, she had felt hope and courage that she hadn't felt in a long time well up inside of her. No, there was nothing little about that. She smiled sadly. Maybe they would survive it; maybe she would see them again. She shook her head to chase out the gloomy thoughts that were threatening to appear. There is no use thinking of things like that, she told herself sternly. They had sensible heads on their shoulders. She had been able to tell that in the short time she had spent with them. They would survive.

She turned her thoughts to the road ahead of her. It was not much. Her road was to keep off the road as much as possible, to not be seen and avoid danger. Sam and Frodo had tried to give her a little of the food they had left, but she had refused their offer. They needed it more than she did, and she was no stranger to hunger. She could deal with it.

She had already run into trouble. There had been a gangly shadow that had passed her, hissing to itself. She had watched it go by, sure that it was that 'Gollum' creature Frodo and Sam had told her about. She hoped fervently that they were on their guard.

She was brought out of her reverie by orcish voices. Apparently not all of the orcs had been sent to the gate. She crouched in a ditch, hoping that they wouldn't spot her. As they passed by she realized that they were speaking a crude sort of common. They were arguing about how nothing could have made it this far. They would have been caught by other groups. She heard growling and yells about insubordination, a whoosh of a sword and twang of a bow at the same time, and then silence. She peered cautiously at the road. Two orc bodies were lying there. She sighed in relief. There was one good thing about orcs. They can't go one day without killing something. If the only one there is an orc, than they kill each other. Apparently the 'friendliness' as Sam had called it, had spread around a little. Sam and Frodo had described a similar experience to her as the one that had just happened. Anora glanced carefully in both directions before climbing onto the road. She walked up to the dead orcs. One was a fighting Urukai, and the other was a tracking goblin. That explained why they had been speaking in common, they would not have been able to understand each other otherwise. Anora pulled the sword and sheath from one of the corpse's belt. She might need it later.

Anora looked further up the road. She needed to get her bearings, figure out how much longer to the pass. To her surprise, it was not far. Maybe a few miles. Then, she recognized the road she stood on. It was a road that the slaves used to haul supplies to the tower. The sides of the road were filled with thorn bushes, one of the only plants that grew in Mordor. Anora did not really want to travel off road in this terrain but she knew that staying on the road meant being caught. With a reluctant sigh, she slid off the road and into the brush. This was going to take a while.

She scrambled, climbed, and crawled at a snail's pace. Anora didn't seem to be getting any where, and she longed to crawl back to the road, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet.

Something was niggling at the back of her mind, but she didn't figure it out until it was time to brave the road again, hours later. She looked in both directions before sliding onto the road. Anora walked quickly, wanting to get out of sight as soon as possible. She felt exposed. Suddenly it hit her. There was an entire part of the road that was in sight of the tower! She groaned inwardly. In her haste she had forgotten about it. It was just around the bend. She would have to walk right past the gate of the tower that guarded the pass. She bit her lip in worry. She took a deep breath 'Calm down, Anora.' She told herself, 'This is no time to panic. You'll just have to move very fast. You'll make it. Think optimistically. You can do it.' She blew the hair out of her eyes, 'yeah, right. I'm about to die'

Anora peered around a corner in the road and gulped slightly. There was the crumbled gate. She was standing behind the only cover that this part of the road offered. She felt terror fill her heart as she spotted the Nazgul perched on the battlements, keeping watch on the road. There no way past. Anora felt disappointed tears well up in her eyes. She had traveled so far, and now she did not even have the option of turning back. There was no place to go. She gritted her teeth. 'FINE!' she thought, 'If I'm going to die, I'm at least going to be trying to get out when I do it.' She looked up at the dark sky.

"If there are any gods in this land, give me strength." She murmured and stepped out into the open, drawing her sword.

The Nazgul straightened in alarm and its steed looked at her. Anora forced herself to take a step, and another, and another. The Nazgul gave a horrible shriek and the ugly beast it rode upon spread its wings and lifted into the air. Anora began to run, words swirling through her head and matching her pounding footsteps. _Almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Nazgul sat on the wall, intent on being vigilant. Someone had gotten past the tower and a spy had escaped the prison. The Master was not pleased. Any more mistakes would carry a heavy price. Sauron neither forgave nor forgot anything.

Suddenly, the scent of blood flowing through human veins caught its attention. Some one was nearby, someone who was not supposed to be here. He gave a command and his steed lifted him into the air. He gave another signal and they dove toward the intruder.

Suddenly a searing, bright light filled his vision. He let out a shriek of pain and fury and pulled away. He turned, planning on making another sweep. It was too late. The intruder had made it to the tunnels. They had climbed over the secret door and into Shelob's lair.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Anora leaned against a wall, breathing hard. She looked down at the glass phial that she held in her hand. It glittered brightly at her. She had no idea how she had gotten it. Her hand had slipped into the pouch at her belt while she was running. Anora had a sneaking suspicion that Sam and Frodo had waited until she was sleeping before slipping it into her leather pouch. A hard lump was forming in her throat. If they had given it to her, it meant that they did not think they would need it. That meant that they were not planning on getting out of Mordor. They had not come to leave and they were not going to. She scrubbed at her eyes. She had only known them for one night, but she felt herself grieve like she had for her family, and for the friends she had thought that she would never see again. They were already as dear to her as that. She had been a stranger in a dangerous land, but they had shared their company with her. They had trusted her enough to tell her the most important secret on middle earth. And now they had given her 'more than a little light' she thought. They were her friends. Anora took a deep, calming breath. It was time to move on. Their gift had given her time. Anora did not want to waste it. She held the precious light close and walked down into the tunnels, where it was so dark that Mordor seemed sunlit in comparison.

TBC

_Well, there's another chapter. See, I told you I wasn't abandoning it. You should see another chapter soon, so keep checking. You know the drill; hit the little button on the bottom left hand corner of the screen. _


	4. Both the Darkest and Brightest Place

Author's Note: Here's the fourth chapter. I'm working on my POV's. So there is going to be a certain spider's point of view in here. As always, thank you to my reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. The only character in this story that is mine is Anora.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Chapter four: A Monster's Lair is Both the Darkest and Brightest Place

_Shelob sat in the soothing darkness, hissing in anger as her injured eye throbbed in pain. This would never have happened in the early ages of middle-earth! In those times all other creatures had the proper respect and fear for the nightmarish spider. Shelob did not mind admitting that she was old. In her opinion, the old were wise, had more experience, and therefore made more kills. The young were weak, and could not keep enough emotion out of their hunting. She admitted that her biggest mistake while fighting the intruders was that she let her anger get a hold of her. But, still, it was not entirely her fault. Those _things _did not show the fear. It was not right. She hissed again. They had ancient weapons, made by elves. Nasty things. She could still see that horrible starlight that had blinded her momentarily. Then she froze. She _was_ seeing the starlight! So, they thought that they could come back into her own lair and finish her off! Well, that would be their fatal mistake. Not even injury could minimize her awesome and fearful skills. She would teach them to fear her! Oh, yes. Their deaths would be most painful. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and much more. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Anora crept cautiously through the tunnels, her light held high. She was grateful for it. She had passed a huge hole in the floor that she would have fallen into otherwise. Anora could smell death and decay all around her. Spider webs were strewn everywhere. Suddenly, the awful smell seemed to increase. She felt her stomach clench as she heard a faint rustling come from behind her. She turned and saw a huge form standing just a few feet down the tunnel. It was huge. Long legs lifted it's huge, bloated body into the air. It left a trail of sickly yellow slime behind it on the ground which came from a gash in its underbelly. Her brain screamed at her to run, but her legs were frozen in fear. She couldn't move, couldn't breath. The smell was crushing her; the walls were closing in around her. The monstrous spider took a step towards her. Its many eyes glittered in the light. She would have screamed if she could but she still felt unable to breathe.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Ahhhhhh. Shelob took in a deep breath, tasting the fear that was tainting the air and exulting in it. This is what was deserved and expected. Of course it was not the small intruders that had been there before. This was a human female. But it was all the same to Shelob. This one held the starlight. It was blinding to her night eyes, but not as bright as before. This one did not know the words that would unleash its power. This one was helpless, just like any other human that had crossed her path before. It was frozen with the fear. Such delicate creatures, humans were. Their vulnerability to fear was what made them the ultimate prey. Any other creature backed into a corner would put up a huge fight. With humans it differed. Some were fighters and others were not. This one obviously was not. She would be able to put this one away easily._

_Shelob advanced intent on putting her stinger into the human's neck and then throwing the starlight into the deepest pit in her tunnels. That way she would never have to look at it again. She was towered over the pitiful thing. It was not much. There was barely any skin on its bones. Most things that came in from that side of the tunnels were in that kind of condition. But still, it would be her first meal in a week. She could not afford to scoff at it. _

_Her eyes narrowed as she approached the light. The human drew its sting of metal that humans called swords. So, it was not as fearful as it should be. Another emotion was building on the air. It was one that worried Shelob. It was desperation. The human's muscles tensed. It was going to run. Shelob would not be able to chase it down, injured as she was._

_Shelob made a split second decision. She thrust one of her huge, hairy forelegs into the human's stomach, sending it crashing into the wall. She then stepped on one of its legs. It screamed in pain as the bone splintered. Shelob savored the taste that was returning to the air. She stepped forward; it was time to finish this. Shelob was hungry, she might not even let it hang for the appropriate time. Then the human stopped screaming. Uh, oh, not good. _

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Anora scrambled to her feet, breathing hard, but she felt no more pain. Adrenaline was coursing through her. She raised her sword and the light. She heard words in her mind as if they were whispered in her ear. She cried them out loud.

"_Aiya elenion ancalima!"_

The spider's eyes widened in panic. A burning light shone from the phial, lighting up the tunnels like daylight. Anora was holding the light of a sun in the palm of her hand.

ooooooooooooooooooo

_Shelob shrank away. No, no, not again! Something had gone wrong, this wasn't right. There was still fear on the air, but it was her own. She couldn't see. She didn't know which direction to turn. Her instincts told her that the human was backing farther down the tunnel. She was losing it. _

_Shelob's insatiable hunger for food and violence pushed her forward, towards the light. She would _make_ it stop. Shelob raised her foreleg to bring it crashing down on the human's_ _head but felt it sliced out from under her. The human had brought its sword into play. But even injured, Shelob was deadly and the human knew it. It turned and ran down the tunnel. Shelob scuttled after it. It wouldn't get far. The adrenaline that was keeping it on its feet would run out soon and then it would collapse. It was just a matter of time. Shelob just needed to stop it from getting out. She crawled on for miles and watched the light get closer as the human slowly began to run out of energy. Suddenly her quarry gave a burst of speed. Looking ahead Shelob saw that the entrance was near. She quickened her pace. She would catch it. It was slowing down. It stopped at the opening and let out a small cry of pain. She saw its legs were shaking. It turned at the sound of her claws clicking on the stone floor._

_She was two feet from it when it lifted its sword and plunged it into her ancient head. The light flickered. Ahhh, finally. The light has gone out._

ooooooooooooooooooo

Anora watched as the giant eyes misted over. The giant body twitched and jerked in death throes. Suddenly the body rolled into her, sending Anora tumbling head over heals down the winding stair. Even in death, Shelob had made one last effort to kill her enemy.

TBC

_Yes, I know. That was kind of short. I will try to make the next chapter longer. As always, please review._

_glowingnarya_


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